Annoyances of Windows Vista and Windows 7

Some tips apply to all versions of Windows 2000 through to Windows 8.1 while some are specific or limited to specific versions. You can also find tips in Annoyances of Windows 2000/XP which are not necessarily limited to those versions. Tracking which specific feature has been removed is beyond the scope of these articles. It will be noted when testing is available.

A program called MSCONFIG (msconfig.exe) has many capabilities including the ability to disable some of the unnecessary programs that automatically load on start-up. Disabling some of these TSR (Terminate-and-Stay-Resident) programs will help your computer boot faster and crash less, while disabling others can be problematic. Rather than using MSCONFIG you should attempt to remove the unwanted TSR from the Startup group or Run keys of the Windows registry.

If you use MSCONFIG to disable startup programs you will notice you get an annoying balloon message each time you login. The balloon popup message will say "Windows Has Blocked Some Startup Programs." You can disable the annoying balloon popup and continue to use the feature. Simply follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the MSCONFIG icon in the system tray (bottom right) - the place the balloon appears to pop up from.
2. Select "Run blocked program" and then "System Configuration Utility."
3. In the "System Configuration" dialog box select the checkbox that says "Don't show this message or start System Configuration when Windows starts."

• Microsoft Knowledge Base KB-930367

A popup notification in the Windows taskbar installed by a misleading fraudulent update.

To remove the Get Windows 10 popup notification follow the instructions in KB3035583.

Trying to copy files from the system to removable media such as a USB flash drive and Microsoft prompts an annoying and reoccurring error message. The message is vague and misleading. It relates to NTFS ADS (alternate data streams).

The NTFS file system is inappropriate for flash media. FAT32 is not capable of preserving the NTFS permissions of files being copied from the NTFS formatted hard drive to the FAT32 removable media. The permissions largely include file ownership and file permissions. These are not file "properties" but rather file "permissions."

Even when you select YES to the dialog and check the box for application of the selection to all files, it only applies to files of the specific type. For a different file type the dialog will present itself again. This makes a "fire and forget" unattended file copy process impossible.

Microsoft suggests formatting the removable media NTFS, which is ill-advised. Due to the additional read/write activity necessary for NTFS this would not be good for flash media. NTFS is also less portable. The best solution would be to have the ability to copy without the annoying prompts.

Workarounds / Solutions: (1) Using the command prompt and piping Y for yes. (2) Using third party copy software such as TeraCopy. (3) Getting angry and waiving your fist in the air while damning Microsoft.

Example has f as the removable media. Open the command shell cmd.exe with administrator privileges.

xcopy c:\files f:\ /s/h/r/i/k/e/y

or

robocopy c:\files f:\ /e /b /copyall /xo /it

See also: Copying Files in Microsoft Windows

Some well documented Windows Annoyances of the past still exist in current versions of the operating system and the resolution still applicable from the older guides. For example, some of the resolutions in our Annoyances of Windows 2000/XP still work in newer versions of Microsoft Windows. Some steps are slightly different but close enough to be of assistance when reviewing the legacy documentation. See all of our Windows Annoyances pages.

The full install file is meant for system administrators to use on removable media or for multiple machine deployment. It is actually the best way to install a service pack, having the full file in hand. However, Microsoft has made it incredibly confusing locating the full network install for Windows 7 SP1 because of their dopey naming convention (or lack thereof) and poorly named debug files.

To download the stand-alone Service Pack 1 for Windows 7, go to Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.

There are many files to choose from. The first file on the list is the .ISO (DVD image) of the Service Pack containing three different versions of the full installer. The three versions (IA, x64, x86) are meant for three different processor / architecture types. This ISO is for burning to a DVD disc. The installer auto-detects the architecture.

The large array of files with the word "Symbols" in the name you should not use. They are debug files and language pack files. The naming of all of these files is extremely confusing to anyone not working for Microsoft.

The final three files in the list happen to be the ones rolled up in the a aforementioned ISO file. As a stand alone installer it is one of these three files that you actually need for your computer. The naming of the files relates to architecture:

• IA64 for an Itanium processor (used in enterprise level servers)
• X64 for 64-bit Windows 7 (AMD and Intel)
• x86 for 32-bit Windows 7 (AMD and Intel)

What is even more stupid, thanks to the nerds at Microsoft is the fact that the files say they are for Windows 6.1. Well didn't you know that Windows 7 is Windows 6.1? Well it is. Stupid as h*ll but what do you expect from Microsoft?

If you have a typical modern home computer or laptop you probably have a 64-bit processor and you will want to download the file:

• windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe - which is Service Pack 1 for Windows 7, the full network install file. It is 903MB.

Note: Microsoft moves their file and link locations all the time. The links presented here were last known to work as of September 2015.

If Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Won't Install you will have to begin the troubleshooting process.

To avoid installing updates when you shut down, all you need to do is lock your computer (which you can do by pressing Win+L). Now use the shutdown icon from the lock screen where you'll see an option to "Install Updates and Shut Down" or just "Shut Down."

Windows 7 Does Not Boot After GParted Resize because Microsoft does something very nonstandard which thwarts partition resizing software and causes people many headaches. This is a common scenario where Microsoft does something really dumb making things difficult for the open source crowd, resulting in utilities such as GParted being untrustworthy.

The good news is the problem is typically easily repaired using a Windows 7 Recovery Disc.

The TrustedInstaller user account is in Windows 7 but _not_ Vista. The TrustedInstaller user account owns your system files. If you try to delete a system file such as notepad.exe then you will receive an error. See our help page on Working Around TrustedInstaller to find out how to take ownership of your files and delete system files you want to be rid of, such as the lousy notepad.exe that Microsoft is so proud of.